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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"A critique does not consist in saying that things aren't good the way they are. It consists in seeing on just what type of assumptions, of familiar notions, of established and unexamined ways of thinking the accepted practices are based... To do critcism is to make harder those acts which are now too easy."

"I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning. If you knew when you began a book what you would say at the end, do you think that you would have the courage to write it? What is true for writing and for love relationships is true also for life. The game is worthwhile insofar as we don’t know where it will end."

"What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is related only to objects and not to individuals, or to life. That art is something which is specialized or which is done by experts who are artists. But couldn't everyone's life become a work of art? Why should the lamp or the house be an art object, but not our life?"

"Thought is no longer theoretical. As soon as it functions it offends or reconciles, attracts or repels, breaks, dissociates, unites or reunites; it cannot help but liberate or enslave. Even before prescribing, suggesting a future, saying what must be done, even before exhorting or merely sounding an alarm, thought, at the level of its existence, in its very dawning, is in itself an action - a perilous act."

"But let there be no misunderstanding: it is not that a real man, the object of knowledge, philosophical reflection or technological intervention, has been substituted for the soul, the illusion of theologians. The man described for us, whom we are invited to free, is already in himself the effect of a subjection more profound than himself. A 'soul' inhabits him and brings him to existence, which is itself a factor in the mastery that power exercises over the body. The soul is the effect and instrument of a political anatomy; the soul is the prison of the body."

How can another see into me, into my most secret self, without my being able to see in there myself? And without my being able to see him in me. And if my secret self, that which can be revealed only to the other, to the wholly other, to God if you wish, is a secret that I will never reflect on, that I will never know or experience or possess as my own, then what sense is there in saying that it is my secret, or in saying more generally that a secret belongs, that it is proper to or belongs to some one, or to some other who remains someone. It's perhaps there that we find the secret of secrecy. Namely, that it is not a matter of knowing and that it is there for no one. A secret doesn't belong, it can never be said to be at home or in its place. The question of the self: who am I not in the sense of who am I but rather who is this I that can say who? What is the I and what becomes of responsibility once the identity of the I trembles in secret?

Though collecting quotations could be considered as merely an ironic mimetism-victimless collecting, as it were ... in a world that is well on its way to becoming one vast quarry, the collector becomes someone engaged in a pious work of salvage. The course of modern history having already sapped the traditions and shattered the living wholes in which precious objects once found their place, the collector may now in good conscience go about excavating the choicer, more emblematic fragments.

I am not saying that we should love death, but rather that we should love life so generously, without picking and choosing, that we automatically include it (life’s other half) in our love. This is what actually happens in the great expansiveness of love, which cannot be stopped or constricted. It is only because we exclude it that death becomes more and more foreign to us and, ultimately, our enemy.

It is conceivable that death is infinitely closer to us than life itself... What do we know of it?

"I'd like to repeat the advice that I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty. And so, Ron, in short, get out of Salton City and hit the Road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did. But I fear that you will ignore my advice. You think that I am stubborn, but you are even more stubborn than me. You had a wonderful chance on your drive back to see one of the greatest sights on earth, the Grand Canyon, something every American should see at least once in his life. But for some reason incomprehensible to me you wanted nothing but to bolt for home as quickly as possible, right back to the same situation which you see day after day after day. I fear you will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail to discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover.

Don't settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon. You are still going to live a long time, Ron, and it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into an entirely new realm of experience.

You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.

My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it. The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances."

You must, O my brother, improve your inward aspect until it becomes better than your virtuous outward appearance, for the former is where the gaze of the Real obtains, while the latter is where the envious gaze of creation is to be found. God never mentioned the inward and the outward in His Book without beginning with the inward. And the Prophet used to pray, may blessings and peace be upon him: ‘O God! Make my inward better than my outward, and make my outward virtuous.’

When the inward is good the outward is also inevitably so, for the outward always follows the inward, whether for good or evil. The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: ‘In the body there lies a small piece of flesh; when it is good the rest of the body is good also, and when it is corrupt the rest of the body becomes corrupt also: it is the heart.’

Know that the one who claims to have a thriving inward but whose outward has been corrupted by his abandoning outward acts of obedience is a pretender and a liar.

The one who exerts himself in the reform of his outward aspect by caring about the way he dresses and appears, speaks, moves, sits, stands, and walks, but leaves his inward full of repellent attributes and vile traits, is one of the people of affectation and ostentation, who have turned away from the Lord.

Beware, O brother, of doing in secret that which if seen by people would make you ashamed and worried about being censured. A gnostic once said: ‘A sufi is not a sufi unless, were everything that is in him to be exposed on a plate in a marketplace, he would not be ashamed of anything that came to light.’ If you cannot make your inward better than your outward, the least that you can do is to make them equal, so that you behave equally well privately and publicly in obeying God's injunctions, avoiding His prohibitions, respecting what He has made sacred, and hastening to please Him. This is the first step a servant takes on the path of special knowledge. Know this! Success is from God.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Alhamdulillah, tonight we completed chapter 3 of this book, together with 4 students' presentations.

Chapter 3: On Vigilance

You must, O my brothers, be mindful of God in all your movements and times of stillness, at every moment, with every blink of the eye, with every thought, wish or any other state. Feel His nearness to you! Know that He looks and is Aware of you, that nothing that you conceal is hidden from Him, nothing that weighs so much as an atom is hidden from your Lord, whether on earth or in heaven, when you speak aloud He knows your secret [thought] and that which is even more hidden. He is with you wherever you are, with His knowledge, awareness and power. If you are of the righteous, He will guide, assist and protect you.

Have modesty before your Lord as you should; make sure that He never sees you in a situation which He has forbidden you, and never misses you where He has commanded you to be; worship Him as if you saw Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you. Whenever you notice in your soul any laziness in His worship or inclination to disobedience, remind it that God hears and sees you and knows your secrets and secret conversation. If this reminding does not benefit it because of the inadequacy of its knowledge of the Majesty of God, remind it of the two noble angels who record good and evil deeds, and recite to it : When the two receivers receive, sitting on the right and on the left; he utters no word but there is with him a watcher, ready. [Qaf 50:17,18] If this reminding does not influence it, remind it of the proximity of death, that it is the nearest of all hidden and awaited things; frighten it of its sudden pouncing, whereby if it does come when it is in an unsatisfactory state it will end up in endless perdition. If this threat is of no use, remind it of the immense reward which God has promised those who obey Him, and the painful torment with which He has threatened those who disobey Him. Say to it: 'O soul! After death there will be no opportunity to repent, and there will be, after this life, only the Garden or the Fire. Choose, if you will, obedience, the consequence of which is triumph, contentment, immortality in vast gardens, and looking at the Face of God, the Generous, the Beneficent; or else disobedience, the consequence of which is degradation, humiliation, mockery, deprivation, and imprisonment between layers of fire.’ Endeavour to cure your soul with such reminders when it neglects obedience and inclines to rebellion, for they are useful medicines for the heart's diseases.

If you find emerging in your heart, when you call to mind the fact that God observes you, a shyness that prevents you from disobeying Him and drives you to exert yourself in obeying Him, you are in possession of something of the realities of vigilance [muraqaba].

Know that vigilance is one of the most noble stations, high positions, and lofty degrees. It is the station of excellence [ihsan] indicated in the Prophet's saying, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'Excellence is to worship God as if you saw Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you.’ Each believer has faith that nothing on earth or in heaven is concealed from God, that God is with him wherever he is, and that none of his movements or times of stillness are concealed from Him. But the important thing is that this awareness be permanent and that its results appear, the least of which is that he does nothing, when alone with God, that he would be ashamed of should a man of virtue see him. This is rare, and it eventually leads to that which is rarer still, whereby the servant is totally immersed in God, annihilated in Him and thus rendered unaware of all else, absent from creation through his contemplation of the True King, having arrived at a secure seat in the presence of an Able Sovereign.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Messenger (pbuh) saying: The first of the people whose case will be decided on the Day of Judgment will be a man who died as a martyr. He will be brought forth. Allah will make him know about His blessings (which He had bestowed on him in the World). The man will acknowledge them. Then Allah will ask him: What did you do with them? He will say: I fought in Your way until I died as a martyr. Allah will remark: You are lying. You fought so that you may be called a brave warrior. Then orders will be passed against him. So he will be dragged along on his face and cast into Hell.

Second will be a man who studied (religious) knowledge. Then he taught it to others and recited the Qur'an. He will be brought (for Judgment). Allah will remind him of His favors (showered on him in the world). He will admit them (having enjoyed them in his life). Then Allah will ask him: What did you do with them? He will reply: I acquired knowledge and imparted it and also recited the Qur'an for Your sake. Allah will observe: You have told a lie, for you obtained knowledge to be a renowned scholar; and you recited the Qur'an to be recognized as a Qari (one who recites the Qur'an according to the rules). Then orders will be passed against him. So he will be dragged along on his face and thrown into Hell.

Third will be a man to whom Allah had made abundantly rich and granted him every kind of wealth. He will be brought for judgment. Allah will let him know about His gifts conferred upon him in the world. He will recognize them. Then Allah will inquire: What did you do with them? He will say: I left no way in which you like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. Allah will say: You are lying. You did so to be known as a generous person (in society); (It means you got your reward in the world according to your intention). Now you deserve nothing in the Hereafter except Hell. So orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged along on his face until he will be hurled into Hell.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Whoever takes up the profession of teaching should observe the following duties:

(1) He will show kindness and sympatty to the students and treat them as his own children. The Prophet said : 'I am to you like a father to his son.' His object should be to protect the student from the fire of Hell. As parents save their children from the fire of this world, so a teacher should save his students or disciples from the fire of Hell. The duties of a teacher are more that those of parents. A father is the immediate cause of this transient life, but a teacher is the cause of immortal life. It is because of the spiritual teacher that the hereafter is much remembered. By teacher, I mean the teacher of the sciences of the hereafter or the sciences of the world with the object of the hereafter. A teacher ruins himself and also his students if he teaches for the sake of the world. For this reason, the people of the hereafter are journeying towards the next world and to God and remain absent from the world. The months and years of this world are so many stations of their journey. There is no miserliness in the fortunes of the nxet world and so there is no envy among them. They turn to the verse: "The believers are brethren" - 49:10.

(2) The second duty of a teacher is to follow the usages and ways of the Prophet. In other words, he should not seek remuneration for teaching but nearness to God therefor. God instructs us to say : Say, I don't want any remuneration for this from you-9:31. Wealth and property are the servants of body which is the vehicle of soul of which the essence is knowledge and for which there is honour of soul. He who searches wealth in lieu of knowledge is like one who has got his face besmeared with impurities but wants to cleanse his body. In that case, the master is made a servant and the servant a master.

(3) The third duty of a teacher is that he should not withhold from his students any advice. After he finishes the outword sciences, he should teach them the inward sciences. He should tell them that the object of education is to gain nearness of God, not power or richnes and that God created ambition as a means of perpetuating knowledge which is essential for these sciences.

(4) The fourth duty of a teacher is to dissuade his students from evil ways with care and caution, with sympathy and not with rebuke and harshness, becausesin that case it destroys the veil of awe and encourages disobedience. The Holy Prophet is the guide of all teachers. He said : If men had been forbidden to make ,parridge of camel's dung, they would have done it saying that they would not have been forbidden to do it unless there has been some good in it.'

(5) The fifth duty of a teacher is that he shall not belittle the value of other sciences before his students. He who teaches grammer naturally thinks the science of jurisprudence as bad and he who teaches jurisprudence discourages the science of traditions and so on. Such evils are blameworthy. In fact the teacher of one learning should prepare his students for study of other learnings and then he should observe the rules of gradual progress from one stage to another.

(6) The sixth duty that a teacher should do is to teach his students up to the power of their understanding. The students should not be taught such things as are beyond the capacity of their understanding. In this matter, he should follow the Prophet who said : We prophets form one class. We have been commanded to give every man his rightful place and to speak to men according to their intellect. The Prophet said When a man speaks such a word to a people who cannot grasp it with their intellect, it becomes a danger to some persons. Hazrat Ali said pointing out to his breast : 'There is much knowledge in it, but then there should be some people to understand it. The hearts of pious men are graves of secret matter.' From this, it is understood that whatever the teacher knows should not all be communicated to the students at the same time. Jesus Christ said : Don't hang pearls around the neck of a swine. Wisome is better than pearls. He who knows it as bad is worse than swine. Once a learned man was questioned about something but he gave no reply. The questioner said : Have you not heard that the Prophet said?He who conceals any useful knowledge will on the Resurrection Day be bridled with a bridle of fire." The learned man said : You may place the bridle of fire and go.

If I don't disclose it to one who understands it, then put the bridle of fire upon me. God said: Don't give to the fools your property (4 : 4). There is warning in this verse that it is better to safeguard knowledge from those who might be corrupted by it. To give a thing to one who is not fit for it and not to give a thing to one who is fit for it are equally oppression. A certain poet therefore said: Should I cast pearls before the illiterate shepherds? They will not understand, nor know thier worth.

If God by His knowledge sends one with knowledge, I will give my goods to him, and gain his love. He wastes his learning who gives it to one unworthy. He commits sin who witholds it from one worthy.

(7) The seventh duty of a teacher is that he should teach his backward students only such things as are clear and suited to their limited understanding. Every man thinks that his wisdom is perfect and the greatest fool is he who rests satisfied with the knowledge that his intellect is perfect. In short, the door of debates should not be opened before the common men.

(8) The eighth duty of a teacher is that he should himself do what he teaches and should not give a lie to his teaching. Knowledge can be grasped by internal eye and actions by external eye. Many people have got external eyes but very few have got internal eye. So if the actions of a teacher are contrary to what he preaches, it does not help towards guidance, but it is like poison. A teacher is like a stamp to clay and a student is like clay. If the stamp has no character, there is no impression on clay. Or he is like a cane and the student is like the shadow of the cane. How can the shadow of the cane be straight when the cane itself is crooked? God said: Do you enjoin good to the people and forget it for yourselves - 2 : 44? Hazrat Ali said: Two men have broken my back, the learned man who ruins himself and the fool who adopts asceticism. The learned man misleads the people through his sins and the fool through his evil actions.

Manners to be observed by teachers and students. These manners comprise ten duties:

(1) The first duty of a student is to keep himself free from impure habit and evil matters. Effort to acquire knowledge is the worship of mind. It purifies secret faults and takes to God. Prayer is observed by outward organs and as outward purity is not gained except by outward organs, so worship by mind, the fountain head of acquisition of knowledge, cannot be attained without the removal of bad habits and evil attributes.

The Prophet said : Religion is founded on cleanliness. So outward and inward purities are necessary. God says : The polytheists are impure 9: 28Q. It is understood from this that purity and impurity are not merely external as the polytheists also keep their dresses clean and bodies clean, but as their mind is impure, so they are generally impure. The inward purity is of greatest importance. The Prophet therefore said : Angels do not enter a house wherein there are dogs. Human mind is a house, the abode of angels, the place of their movements. The blameworthy evils like anger, lust, rancour, envy, pride, conceit and the like are dogs. When dogs reside in a heart, where is the place for the angels? God takes the secrets of knowledge to the hearts throught the angels. They do not take it except to the pure souls. Hazrat Ibn Masud said : Knowledge is not acquired through much learning. It is a light cast in heart. A certain sage said : Knowledge is God-fear as God said : The learned among the people fear God most.

(2) The second duty of a student is to reduce his worldly affairs and keep aloof : from kith and kin as acquisition of knowledge is not possible in these environments. For this reason, a certain sage said : God has not gifted two minds to a man. For this reason, a certain sage said : Knowledge will not give you its full share till you surrender your entire mind to it.

(3) The third duty of a student is not to take pride or exalt himself over the teacher but rather entrust to him the conduct of all his affairs and submit to his advices as a patient submits to his physician. The Prophet said : It is the habit of a believer not to flatter anyone except when he seeks knowledge. Therefore a student should not take pride over his teacher. Knowledge cannot be acquirred except through modesty and humility. God said : Herein there is warning for one who has got a heart or sets up ear while he himself being a witness-50:36. The meaning of having a heart is to be fit for receiving knowledge and one who is prepared and capable of understanding knowledge. Whatever the teacher should recommend to the student, the latter should follow it putting aside his own opinion. The people should question only in the matter which the teacher permits him. Here there is an instance of Moses and Khizir Khizir said : You will not ask me anything I do. Still Moses questioned him and for that he separated him.

(4) The fourth duty of a student is that he should first pay no attention to the difference whether about wordly sciences or sciences of the hereafter as it may perplex his mind and he may lose enthusiasm. He should adopt first what the teacher says and should not argue about the different mazhabs or sects.

(5) The fifth duty is that a student should not miss any branch of knowledge. He should try to become perfect in them as all branches of learning help one another and some branches are allied with others. If a man does not get a things, it becomes his enemy. God says : When they do not find guidance they say, it is an age-long lie 46:10 A poet said : A sweet thing is bitter in the mouth of a patient as sweet water is tasteless to a sick man. Good knowledge is acquired according to one's genius. It leads man to God or helps him in that way. Each branch of knowledge has got its fixed place. He who guards it, is like a guard who patrols the frontiers in jihad. Each has got a rank in it and each has got a reward in the hereafter according to his rank. The only condition required is that the object of acquisition of knowledge should be to please God.

(6) The sixth duty of a student is that he should not take up all branches of knowledge at a time, but should take up the most important one at first as life is not sufficient for all branches of knowledge. A little learing if acquired with enthusiasm perfects the knowledge of the hereafter or the sciences of the worldly usages and the sciences of revelation. The object of the science of worldly usages is to acquire spiritual knowledge. The goal of the spiritual knowledge is to know God. Our object by this knowledge is not that belief which is handed down from generations to generations. Our object for this knowledge is to acquire light arising out of certain faith which God casts in soul.

Such light was acquired by Hazrat Abu Bakr. The Prophet said about Abu Bakr: If the faith of the people of the world is weighed with the faith of Abu Bakr, his faith would be heavy. In short, the highest and the noblest of all science, is to know God This science is like a sea of which the depth cannot be ascertained. In this science, the highest rank is that of the Prophets, then of the friends of God and finally that of those who follow them. It has been narrated that the portraits of two ancient wise men were seen on the wall of a mosque. One of them held a peice of paper in which it was written: If you purify everything, don't understand that you have even purified one thing till you know God and know that He is the cause of all Causes and the Creator of everything. In the hand of the second man, there was a scroll in which it was writen : I removed thirst before by drinking water and then I have come to know God. But when I have come to know God, my thirst was quenched without any water.

(7) The seventh duty of a student is that he should not take up a new branch of learning till he has learnt fully the previous branch of learning, because it is requisite for the acquisition of knowledge. One branch of knowledge is a guide to another branch. God says : Whoso has been given the Quran recities it with due recitation-2:15 In other words, he does not take up one learning till he masters the previous one. Hazrat Ali said : Dont't conceal truth form men, rather know the truth, then you will be is master of truths.

(8) The eighth duty of a studnet is to know the causes for which noble sciences are known. It can be known from two things, nobility of its fruit and the anthenticity of its principles. Take for example the science of religion as medicine. The fruit of the science of religion is to gain an eternal life and the fruit of the other is to gain a temporary life. From these points of view, the science of religion is more noble as its result is more noble. Take up Mathematics and Astrology, the former is nobler because the former is more authentic in its foundations. From this, it is clear that the science of the knowledge of God, of His angels, of His books and of His prophets is the noblest and also the branches of knowledge which help it.

(9) The ninth duty of a student is to purify mind and action with virtues, to gain proximity to God and His angles and to live in the company of those who live near Him. His aim should not be to gain worldly matters, to acquire riches and properties, to argue with the illiterate and to show pride and haughtiness. He whose object is to gain nearness of God should seek such learning as helps towards that goal, namely the knowledge of the hereaafter and the learnings which are auxiliary to it. God said God will raise herewith in rank who are believers and to whom knowledge have been given-58:11. God said : They have got stages, some lower, some higher. The highest rank is that of the Prophets, then of the friends of God and then of the learned who are firm in knowledge and then of the pious who follow them.

(10) The tenth duty of a student is that he should keep attention to the primary object of knowledge. It is not in your power to enjoy bliss of this world and that of the next world together. This world is a temporary abode. Body is a conveyance and the actions run towards the goal. The goal is God and nothing else. All bliss and happines lie in Him. So give more importance to the sciences which take to that ultimate goal.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

You must, O my brother, improve the soundness and sincerity of your intentions, examine them, and reflect well before embarking on your actions. For intentions are the bases of deeds; according to them your deeds will either be good or ugly, sound or unsound. The Prophet has said, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'Deeds are only according to intentions; each man has that which he intended.'

You must, therefore, utter no word, do no action, and decide no matter without the intention of drawing nearer thereby to God and seeking the reward He has assigned, through His beneficence and grace, to the intended act. And know that drawing nearer to Him can only be done through the obligatory and supererogatory devotions that He has indicated through His Messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him.

A sincere intention may change the merely licit into the devotional, for means are judged according to their ends. For example, one may eat to get the strength to perform devotions, or sleep with one's wife to obtain a son who would worship God.

It is a condition of the sincere intention that behaviour does not belie it. For instance, a man who seeks knowledge claiming that his intention is to practice and teach it will be proved insincere in his intention if, when he becomes able to, he does not do so. Or a man who pursues the world and claims that he is doing so only that he may be independent of other people and be able to give charity to the needy and help his relatives will be proved ineffectual in his intention should he not do so when able.

Intentions do not affect sins, just as purification does not affect that which is, by its very nature, impure. A man who goes along with another who is slandering a Muslim, then pretends that he only wanted to humour him, is himself a slanderer. Anyone who refrains from the enjoining of good and the forbidding of evil and pretends that he only did so to protect himself against the culprit, is his partner in evil-doing. A malicious intention attached to a good deed spoils it and renders it malicious; likewise when one performs good deeds for the sake of wealth and prestige.

Strive, my brother, always to intend that your obedience be solely for the sake of God, and that whatever licit things you may use are only to help you to obey Him.

Know that many intentions can attach to a single act, and that each of them will attract it's full reward. An example of this in devotional activities is when someone reads the Qur'an intending to commune with God (which thing he will indeed do) but also to extract from it different kinds of knowledge, (for the Qur'an is the very mine of knowledge), to profit those who listen or [just happen to] hear, or any other good intention. And an example in licit matters is to eat with the intention of obeying the command of your Lord in His saying (Exalted is He!): O you who believe! Eat of the good things with which We have provided you, and give thanks to God. [2:I72] Intend by so doing to acquire strength for devotion, and to put yourself in a situation where you must thank your Lord, for He says (Transcendent is He!): Eat of your Lord's provision and thank Him. [34:15] You can apply these two examples in an analogous fashion to all other devotional and licit activities; and always do your best to increase your good intentions.

The word 'intention' can have one of two meanings. The first is the aim which made you decide, do, or say something. Taken in this sense the intention is usually better than the act when the act is good, and worse when the act is evil. He has said, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'The intention of a believer is better than his action;' notice how he specifically mentioned the believer. The second is your decision and determination to act. Taken in this sense it is not better than the act. A man, when he decides to do something, can only be in one of three situations. [I] He decides and acts. [II] He decides but fails to act while able to. The way to evaluate these two situations can be clearly found in that which lbn Abbas, may God be pleased with them both, has transmitted to the effect that the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'God has written good and evil deeds, then rendered them clear; anyone who intends a good deed but does not perform it, God records it as one good deed, whereas should he intend and then perform it, God records it as ten good deeds, up to seven hundred fold, and to yet more multiplications. If he intends an evil deed and does not do it, God records it as one full good deed; if he intends and then does it, God records it as one evil deed.' [III] He determines upon something which he is for the time being unable to do and says: 'Were I able, I would do [such-and-such a thing].' He receives the same as the one who acts, whether this be for or against him.

The evidence for this is the Prophet's saying, may blessings and peace be upon him: 'People are of four kinds: a man to whom God has given knowledge and wealth, and who uses his knowledge to manage his wealth; another who says: "Were God to give me just as He has given so-and-so I would act like him," - their rewards are equal. And a man to whom God has given wealth but no knowledge, whom mishandles his wealth through ignorance; while another says: "Were God to give me as He has given so-and-so I would act like him" - their burdens of sin are equal.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations: the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: "Anyone can cook." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

You must, beloved brother, strengthen and improve your certainty. For when certainty prevails in the heart and establishes itself therein the unseen becomes as if seen and the man aided by providence says, as ‘Ali, may God ennoble his face, said: ‘Were the cover to be removed, I would not increase in certainty.’

Certainty is power, firmness and stability of faith so great that it becomes as a towering mountain which no doubts can shake and no illusions rock. Rather, doubts and illusions disappear completely, and when they come from outside are neither listened to by the ear nor heeded by the heart. The Devil cannot approach the possessor of such certainty; he flees from him, fears his very shadow, and is content to keep at a safe distance. As the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: ‘Satan is afraid of the shadow of `Umar, and `Umar never takes a road but that Satan takes another.’

Certainty derives its power and excellence from many things. The first, most essential and pivotal of these is that the servant listen attentively with his heart as well as his ears to verses and hadiths relating to God, His Majesty, Perfection, Magnitude, and Grandeur, His Uniqueness in creating and deciding, ruling and compelling; likewise to the truthfulness and perfection of the Messengers, the miracles they were aided with, and the sundry chastisements which befell those who opposed them. That these are sufficient to bring about certainty is indicated by His Word (Exalted is He!):

Is it not enough for them that We have sent down upon you the Book which is recited to them? [29:51]

The second is to learn from looking at the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and the wondrous and astounding creatures that God made them teem with. That this brings about certainty is indicated by His saying (Exalted is He!):

We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth. [41:53]

The third is to behave according to what one believes, outwardly and inwardly, zealously, and to the limits of one’s resources. That this brings about certainty is indicated by His saying (Exalted is He!):

And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.[29:69]

Proper certainty results in, among many other things, acquiescence in God’s promise, confidence in what He has guaranteed, turning to God with pure longing, abandoning all things which distract from Him, continuously returning to Him in all circumstances, and spending all one’s energy in seeking His good pleasure.

In sum, certainty is the essential thing, and all other noble ranks, praiseworthy traits of character and good works are its branches and results.

Virtues and actions are strong or weak, sound or unsound, according to the strength or otherwise of certainty. Luqman, upon whom be peace, said: ‘Action is possible only in the presence of certainty; a servant acts in obedience only to the extent that he has certainty, and a man becomes neglectful in his actions only when his certainty diminishes.’ This is why the Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: ‘Certainty is the whole of faith.’

Believers have three degrees of certainty. The first is that of the People of the Right Hand, this is firm belief but with the possibility of becoming doubtful or shaky under certain circumstances. This is called faith.

The second is that of the Ones Brought Nigh, which is the possession of the heart by faith and its establishing itself therein so firmly that its opposite becomes no longer possible or even imaginable. In this degree the unseen becomes as the seen. This is called certainty.

The third is that of the Prophets and the True Saints (siddiqun) who are their perfect heirs. Here the unseen becomes seen, which thing is called unveiling (kashf) and contemplation (mushahada)

There are grades within each degree: all are good, but some better than others. That is God’s grace, He bestows it upon whom He will, and God’s grace is abundant. [57:29]

Friday, March 4, 2011

"... The conference was a source of many blessings. My paper was well-received and I gained a great deal of insight. I met many other beautiful God-conscious thinkers who taught me many things. A very important part of these learnings was how to move towards integrating all the aspects of my life: the practical, professional and spiritual. Indeed the counsel I received was more than welcomed. By that time I had grown very tired of attempting to live my life maintaining the straining separations.

Among the varied experiences of the conference, I also learned about another quite personal and unseen attachment. It had to do with the Mosque of my home town and the old man, the Imam. Somehow I had always felt an allegiance to that particular group and city. During the conference I was speaking about my hopes and concerns to an older Muslim man I had met. He listened, then calmly looked at me and said: 'Don't you see, my brother? Allah has brought you here in order that you may realise that you are a citizen of the planet. Your family is everywhere.'

The words fell on my ears as if I were a deaf man restored to hearing. I had never considered my life so broadly before. With this answer another question came to clarity as well, concerning teachers and Imams (religious leaders). I had viewed the Imam as a kind of Shaikh, or master teacher. Somehow, I felt obliged not to seek another teacher because of my loyalty to him — yet much as I loved him, I knew that what I sought in my heart was not with him. The older seeker clarified the essential issue. He explained that a person can easily be someone's Imam — that is, one's leader in exoteric matters of religious practice — and not necessarily his Shaikh, or spiritual director and guide in more inwardly focused esoteric matters of spiritual purification and growth.

I attributed too much to the Imam because he had been my first formal teacher after Sister Majeed. When I learned that I had done this, I was very much relieved. At the same time, I continued to hold a very special place in my heart for him. The Prophet Muhammad himself, peace be upon him, said: 'Be most humble and respectful to persons from whom you receive knowledge.' Also his companion, AH, may God be pleased with him, said: 'I am a slave to the person who has taught me even a single word. He may sell me or set me free.' And so it was that during the conference many dark, unanswered questions had unexpectedly come to light.

As I reflected on being there and all the many things I learned, I realised more and more about the mercy of God. I truly felt His unseen care. From one side of the world to the other, I looked backwards on my life. I saw that God had loved me even through my foolish days, and that He kept my heart alive. I had been lost it is true, but I never rejected Him, and the inward seeking was always there..."

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.

Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.

Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.

Hamdun al-Qassar, one of the great early Muslims, said, “If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for them. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.” [Bayhaqi] Imam Ghazali also quotes this in the Ihya.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Overlook the slips of respected people.” [Bukhari]

The General Basis for Making Excuses

Ibn Ajiba mentions that making excuses for others returns to the Prophet’s words that, “A believer is a mirror of the believer.” [Abu Dawud] So what you see in your brethren is a reflection of what is within you: so beware.

The way of purity and sincerity is to look at everyone - friend and foe - with the eye of sincere concern (nasiha) and mercy. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that, “Religion is sincere concern (ad-dinu’n nasiha).” [Muslim] And, “It is only the merciful who are granted mercy by the All-Merciful. Be merciful to those on earth and the Lord of the Heavens will be merciful to you.” And, “None of you believes until they wish for others as they wish for themselves.” [Abu Dawud]

This is why Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Munazil, of the early Muslims, said, “The believer seeks excuses for their brethren, while the hypocrite seeks out the faults of their brethren.” [Sulami, Adab al-Suhba]

Why 70 Excuses?

This is because the default assumption about all humans and their actions is that they are sound and free of error. This is considered our operating certainty. After this, if we find something that makes us doubt about them, we are not permitted to leave this operating certainty that they did not err for mere doubts or misgivings.

Allah Most High commanded us: “Believers! Leave much doubt, for most doubt is sinful.” [Qur'an, 49.12]

The doubts and misgivings about others that are sinful are those that do not have a sound basis that would be sufficient to leave our operating assumption about others that they are upright and their actions free of error.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself.

For the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. We have been forced into a conflict. For we are called to meet the challenge of a principle which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilized order in the world.

Such a principle, stripped of all disguise, is surely the mere primitive doctrine that might is right. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear, it is unthinkable that we should refuse to meet the challenge.

It is to this high purpose that I now call my people at home and my peoples across the seas who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm and firm, and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield.

But we can only do the right as we see the right and reverently commit our cause to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, then, with God’s help, we shall prevail."